Decker's Daughter (Cowboys of Cauldron Valley Book 4) Read online

  Decker’s Daughter

  Caroline Lee

  Copyright © 2020, Caroline Lee

  [email protected]

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author.

  First edition: 2020

  Printing/manufacturing information for this book may be found on the last page

  Cover: EDHGraphics

  Created with Vellum

  About This Book

  Decker Cauldron’s life is going pretty well: he’s got a good job, he loves living on his family’s ancestral ranch, and he’s surrounded by enough brothers and cousins to support and tease. But under his quiet nature hides a secret: He’s always wanted kids…lots of kids. Kids to teach, kids to worry about, kids to spoil and raise into being respected adults.

  When Pops starts pressuring him to marry, his yearning for all those kids becomes even stronger. He’s going to have to find a wife, isn’t he?

  Bobbi Rae Diamon is struggling. Though her nursing salary covers rent and groceries for her and her six-year-old daughter, CJ, there’s not a lot left over for much else. So when CJ is offered a chance to learn to ride at a local ranch for free, Bobbi jumps at the chance…only to discover the lesson is being offered by the most drop-dead gorgeous man she’s ever met…Decker Cauldron.

  Bobbi learned a lesson of her own long ago: Falling in love with Decker, no matter how sweet and caring the strong-but-silent cowboy might be, would lead to disaster with heartbreaking consequences. And in no way could she allow CJ to fall in love with him, because the little girl’s heart was even more fragile than Bobbi’s own.

  But CJ has plans of her own. If her mother is too stubborn to see reason, then it’s up to the determined six-year-old to bring Bobbi and Decker together herself!

  Contents

  Other Books by Caroline Lee

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Other Books by Caroline Lee

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  Sweet Contemporary Westerns

  The Cowboys of Cauldron Valley (ongoing)

  Quinn Valley Ranch (5 books)

  River’s End Ranch (14 books)

  Historical Westerns:

  Black Aces (3 books)

  Sunset Valley (3 books)

  Everland Ever After (10 books)

  The Sweet Cheyenne Quartet (6 books)

  Steamy Scottish Historicals:

  The Sinclair Jewels (4 books)

  The Highland Angels (4 books)

  The Hots for Scots (7 books)

  Click here to find a complete list of Caroline’s books.

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  Chapter 1

  “You kids wanna see something cool?”

  When the surrounding children—who were all visiting Cauldron Valley Ranch on a summer camp field trip—shouted their encouragement, the man in the corral smiled and nodded.

  “Well, alright then. Up, Contessa!”

  Decker Cauldron smiled right along with the kids as the beautiful mare rose up on her hind legs and began kicking at the air, in a glorified show of power.

  All his cousin Jim—the ranch’s resident horse whisperer—had to do, was flick his fingers, and the magnificent horse whinnied so loud, it had a few of the children clamping their hands to their ears.

  But not the little girl beside Deck.

  He’d been concentrating on a new stamp he was modifying in his workshop behind the stables, when the camp group had made their way into that area of the ranch. He’d wandered out to see what all the fuss was about, and had soon found himself standing with one booted foot propped on the lowest rail of the corral, and his arms folded on the top one.

  He was getting a kick out of watching Jim work his magic, but not nearly as much as the little girl beside him seemed to be.

  Her dark hair was pulled up into two poof-y pigtails atop her head, and she was wearing a pair of jean shorts, a red t-shirt, and had sneakers on her feet.

  When Contessa reared up, the girl squealed with happiness, planted her foot on the next-higher rung, then scrambled up to the top, dangling over the top rail beside Deck, as if she was desperate to get closer to the horse.

  “Should you be up there?” he asked in a mild voice.

  “Yeah!” When she turned and smiled brightly, he saw she was missing one of her lower teeth, and the image she presented was adorably rumpled. “How else can I get a good view?”

  He lifted one brow, not bothering to hide his own smile, and shrugged. “Your logic makes sense, kid.”

  “I’m CJ, what’s your name?”

  “I’m Decker.” He intentionally left off his last name, because he didn’t want to find out she was the child of one of the superstitious townspeople who’d been raised to think he and his brothers and cousins were bad luck.

  But the little girl’s attention was already back on the mare in the corral, one of the ranch’s fastest racers, and Decker was sure she wouldn’t have given his name a second thought even if he had told her.

  “I’ve never seen a horse this close before!”

  Deck blinked in surprise. He knew ranching wasn’t in everyone’s blood, but this was Montana.

  “Well, just be careful,” he cautioned, as he scooted a little closer to the kid, though he tried not to be too obvious about it. “I don’t see any of your friends standing on the top rails like that.”

  When he nodded around at the other children, who were all watching with their faces pressed against the corral—and their feet firmly on the ground—CJ scoffed.

  “That’s because they have no adventure in their souls. That’s what mama says about me, anyhow. Wow, look at that!” She pointed at Jim, who had Contessa high stepping around the enclosure.

  “Okay,” Deck warned, “but keep both hands on the rail, yeah? I don’t want you falling off.”

  The little girl rolled her eyes and turned to him. “How could I—”

  He never found out what she was going to say, because the movement caused her to lose her grip on the top rail, and when she scrambled for purchase, it only made things worse.

  Decker lunged for her, but he was a half-second too late. With a startled squeak, the little girl fell from the top rail, somehow managing to kick off and twist in mid-air, so she was facing the ground when she landed, which was a small blessing.

  What wasn’t a blessing, was the fact she hit knees-first, then came down hard on her palms.

  Deck was already wincing when he reached her. “Are you alright, honey?”

  She was quiet, as if she’d had the breath knocked out of her, but as he lifted her upright, they both saw the blood on her knees, and she began wailing.

  He wasn’t sure what to do. r />
  Well, he knew what he wanted to do, but would she appreciate a stranger hugging her?

  Her cries brought over a frazzled-looking woman, wearing the same red t-shirt as CJ.

  “What happened?” she called, her hands flapping.

  “CJ fell, ma’am,” Deck explained as he held the little girl. “Looks like some scrapes.”

  “Oh, CJ…” the woman sighed, drawing out the name as if she were used to complaining about the little girl with adventure in her soul. “How many times do I have to tell you?”

  “Sorry, Ms. Karen,” the girl sniffled, her tears silent now as she stared up at the woman who must be her counselor.

  Deck knew he had to step in. “It’s okay, kiddo. I’ve got plenty of ointments and bandages and stuff in my workshop.” He jerked his head toward the stable. “How about we head back there and get you cleaned up while your friends go on with the tour?”

  She was sniffing and nodding, but the woman was peering at him suspiciously. “Aren’t you one of the Cauldrons?”

  He stifled his sigh and nodded. “Decker Cauldron, ma’am.”

  He held out his hand, but wasn’t at all surprised when the woman licked two of her fingers and thrust them into the air, which was a perfectly normal reaction around Cauldron Valley.

  Just part of the superstition.

  It was damned annoying sometimes though.

  The silly little movement had started years ago, when the townsfolk got it into their heads that triplets were bad luck…and then the Cauldron brothers went and had two sets of triplets in the same month. Now, Deck and his brothers and cousins could barely talk to the locals without them doing that stupid lick-fingers-and-stick-‘em-in-the-air sign.

  He forced a smile. “I’ll get CJ cleaned up and bring her back to the group.”

  The counselor was already distracted by another kid. “Reggie! Get that out of your mouth!” She waved dismissively at Deck. “CJ’s mom was supposed to join us after her shift today anyhow. I expect her any minute, so if you’re not done by the time she shows up, I’ll send her your way. Reggie! I meant it! That’s not for eating! I swear…”

  As the counselor bustled off, Deck turned his attention back to the little girl, who was still crying, but bravely making no noise. He squatted beside her once more.

  “Hey, it’ll be okay,” he said, trying to keep his voice low and soothing. “My workshop is right back there, and I’ve got some stuff to help you feel better.”

  She sniffled, holding her hands—abraded palms pointing at the sky—as if she weren’t sure what to do with them. “Band-Aids?” she whispered, lower lip quivering.

  “I don’t rightly know what I’ve got in there. Probably nothing fancy. You like princess Band-Aids, I’ll bet?”

  Mutely, she nodded, her big brown eyes still filled with tears.

  He wanted to hug her, but didn’t want to scare her.

  “Do you mind if I pick you up, CJ? Just to get you to my shop?”

  To his surprise, the little girl threw her arms around his neck, plastering herself to his chest.

  And as Deck stood, holding her against him, he closed his eyes and inhaled.

  This is what being a Daddy would be like.

  It wasn’t the first time he’d had thoughts like this, but it was the first time he’d gotten to hold a kid in a long time. There’d been a time when he’d considered going to college to be a teacher, before he figured out how hard school actually was. He’d given up on being around kids until recently, when he realized he was now in a position to start a family of his own.

  As he carried CJ around to the back of the stables, his lips twitched. Of course, it was awfully hard to find a woman to marry, when most of the town did that stupid finger-licking thing whenever one of the Cauldron men passed. It was only recently, when Pops started giving them grief about not being married, that Deck started seriously considering finding a wife and starting a family.

  He just didn’t have any desire to do it the way his brother Cade or cousins Bob and Jim had gone about doing it. He wanted to make sure he knew his woman before he proposed marriage.

  His woman?

  He was sounding a little barbarian-ish.

  Is that a word?

  Pretty sure he could word anything if he tried hard enough.

  Me Deck. You my woman. Be wife, make babies, good. Grunt.

  Wait, is that a barbarian, or a caveman?

  Is there a difference? Find woman. Make wife, then have lots of fun making babies. Grunt-grunt-man-grunt.

  As he stepped through one of the three sets of French doors into his shop, he snorted at his own subconscious.

  CJ’s head had been on his shoulder, and when she lifted it to peer at him, he instantly missed the feeling.

  “Sorry.” He shrugged. “I was thinking something dumb.”

  “Ms. Karen says I do that a lot.”

  Hm. That sure didn’t seem like a good thing to tell a little kid.

  “I’m sure she just meant you take too many risky chances, because of the adventure in your soul.”

  She sniffled again and laid her head back on his shoulder. “I like you, Decker.”

  “I like you too, kid,” he whispered.

  His first aid kit was under the industrial sink in the back, so he had to force himself to put her down. Standing in the middle of the shop, he looked around for the best place, wishing he had a chair or something. Finally, he accepted the inevitable.

  “Honey, I’m going to have to sit you on my worktable, okay? You gotta promise you won’t fall off.”

  “Okay. I promise,” she said in a small voice.

  When he cleared off the scrap leather he’d been fiddling with and sat her on the hard wood, she started kicking her feet happily, and he figured she was probably going to be fine.

  Still, he didn’t waste time fetching some wet paper towels and the first-aid kit and hurrying back to her.

  As he bent over her knees to clean them, he decided not to warn her the antiseptic spray would sting. Instead, he distracted her, the way Grams always did for him and the other boys.

  “So this is your first time to Cauldron Valley Ranch, huh? Do you live in town?”

  “Yep! We moved here last summer so my mama could take a job at the doctor’s office. She’s a nurse!”

  “Do you like it here?”

  “It’s okay. I miss my Granma, but she died, so mama said we didn’t have a reason to stick around Black Aces anymore.”

  Deck hummed, reaching for the towels to gently wipe her knees. “And how old are you, CJ?”

  “I’m six! I’ll be in first grade soon!” Before he could respond, she asked, “How old are you?”

  Smiling, he brushed the last of the dirt from her scrapes and sprayed them again. “I’m thirty. Wanna know something? I have two brothers and three cousins, and we’re all thirty.”

  Glancing up, he saw her wide eyes. “Are you friends?”

  Dang, but she was adorable.

  “Yep, the best. See, we’re two sets of triplets. That means all six of us were born at about the same time.”

  “What are their names?”

  Digging through the kit, he was relieved to find Band-Aids big enough to cover her knees. “Jim was the man who was working with the horse you saw. His brothers are Ted and Bob. My brothers are Cade and Wyatt.” Trying to distract her again as he began to apply the bandage, he asked, “CJ is a pretty name. What’s it stand for?”

  “Cora Jo, today.”

  It was an odd response, but he was focused on his work and didn’t reply.

  Soon enough he straightened and reached for her hands. “Your knees are all taken care of. Let’s see your palms.”

  When they both bent over her palms, her forehead knocked against his, and he smiled.

  “They don’t hurt as bad as my legs,” she said in a confidential voice.

  And he couldn’t make himself pull away. Instead, he stood there, forehead pressed against hers, and hummed li
ke a doctor might. “They don’t look as bad either. Maybe we’ll just wash them. Are your knees going to be okay?”

  “I hope so. I’d be sad if I couldn’t walk again.”

  He hid his smile. “Yeah, that would be bad.”

  “Would you carry me?”

  The trust in her voice, and the feel of her tiny hands in his, had him swallowing down his emotions.

  ”Anywhere,” he whispered, and knew he meant his promise.

  “CJ!” The frantic call came from outside. “CJ, where are you?”

  It didn’t sound like Karen, the counselor. Decker was in the process of straightening when the woman burst into the room. “CJ! There you are!”

  “Mama!”

  The little girl pulled away from Deck and opened her arms to her mother, who hurried across the room with a relieved look. Awkwardly, Decker shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans and stepped back.

  CJ’s mama was a lovely woman, and he didn’t mind looking at her. She was almost as tall as he was, with short-cropped black hair and a wide, expressive mouth. Her skin was a few shades darker than his, and she wore a set of purple scrubs, as if she’d just come from work. And it was clear how much she loved her daughter.

  “Baby, what did you do to yourself?” she asked, finally stepping away from the table, so she could hold her daughter at arm’s length.

  CJ sighed dramatically. “I had too much adventure, Mama.”

  It was too much. Deck tried to hold in his chuckle, but it came out as a weird kind of snort, which caused both females to turn to him, the older one with a suspicious brow raised.

  “This is Decker, Mama. He saved me.”

  Unless he was mistaken, there was an appreciative gleam in her eyes as her gaze swept him, but she just nodded, before glancing back at her daughter. “Saved you, did he?”